1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handle mounting device for use in a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a handle mounting device for use in a refrigerator which is constructed such that the cost of materials can be reduced and a current leakage problem due to plating can also be solved by reducing an area of a part to be plated in the handle mounting device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A refrigerating or freezing chamber within a refrigerator is configured to allow foodstuffs to be put into and picked out of the chamber by means of opening/closing of a door of the refrigerator. A handle, which a user can grasp when opening and/or closing the door, is mounted to an outer surface of the door. FIG. 1 shows a conventional handle mounting structure. As shown in the figure, a handle 20 is installed on an outer surface 10 of the door of the refrigerator, which is made of a flat steel plate. Further, the handle 20 is manufactured in the form of a pipe, for example, through an aluminum extrusion process.
In order to fix the handle 20 to the outer surface 10 of the door, a handle base 12 has been heretofore utilized. The handle base 12 is manufactured by injection molding synthetic resin material, and is also configured such that one end of the handle 20 is fitted into one side (left side in the figure) of the handle base while the other side thereof is fixed to the outer surface 10 of the door. When the handle 20 is fixed to the outer surface 10 of the door by using the handle base 12, the handle base 12 is coupled with opposite ends of the handle 20.
Then, the handle 20 is fitted into and fastened with a screw Sa to the left side of the handle base 12 so that its locked state can be maintained. A right side of the handle base 12 is fixed with a screw Sb to the outer surface of the door so that its fixed state can be maintained.
Since the handle base 12 injection molded from the synthetic resin material becomes a portion of an external surface of the refrigerator door, a surface thereof should be plated for the sake of a good external appearance. In addition, such a plating process is performed throughout the entire surface of the handle base 12.
With the conventional constitution as such, some problems are produced out as follows.
In such a conventional technique, the entire surface of the handle base 12 is plated. It is not economically preferable from the viewpoint of the plating costs. That is, since an area to be plated becomes large, there is a disadvantage in that entire production costs are increased due to the plating process.
Further, if the plating process is performed on the surface of the handle base 12, the surface exhibits a conductive characteristic. At this time, since the handle base can be electrically connected through the screw Sb with the outer surface 10 of the door made of the steel plate, a current leakage problem in the refrigerator may be produced.